Lakefront lots, shorelines
should be kept natural

Letter to the Editor:

With great pleasure and much enthusiasm, I wish to thank you for your recent very fine article on the Northwoods Land Trust. How delighted I am that many other people wish to keep the North Woods the North Woods.

The Northwoods Land Trust is a wondrous idea. Why do city people want to destroy their beautiful wooded privacy for very large grass lawns?

For some 12 years, I have been at odds with a neighbor who, immediately after moving in, came over and told us our property looked horrible. They told us we should cut and trim and plant grass.

This property has been in my family for five generations with natural shoreline and, except for the space for the house, car and road, looks like it was when my great-grandmother and grandparents bought it in 1920. My goal is to work and live in harmony with nature.

Lawns require chemicals that damage the lake. Man-made, large rock shorelines hurt the ecology of the lake. At least 30 feet of the shoreline should be natural so birds and animals can nest, rest and feel secure. Logs falling into the water should be left there so insects can breed there, then fall into the water thereby attracting the fish.

My hope is that the real estate people will give the new homeowners on lake property the Department of Natural Resources material before building so we can protect this part of this wonderful state that I love so much.

The land is a mother that never dies and we must try our best to keep our mother looking young, natural and beautiful. Thank you,b Northwoods Land Trust; I salute you.

Sincerely,

Patricia Siekert-Kulzick

Eagle River